When she wished upon a star

North Sydney student, Kate-Lynd Sinatambou, spent a year working at Disney World as a participant in Disney’s International College Program. She spoke to Margie Dimech about her magical time in Orlando, Florida

ACU student Kate-Lynd Sinatambou has recently returned from the most magical experience of her life.

The Bachelor of Business student completed a year-long internship at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

“When I was a kid I wanted to be Simba from The Lion King, then I realised I wasn’t a lion so I did a business degree instead!

“I’m in my final year at ACU and during my studies I have had great opportunities, including being elected Vice President of the student association and launching Wired Radio station North Sydney,” said Kate-Lynd.

“Being selected for the Disney International College Program was another such opportunity and one I really enjoyed.”

The program, which is open to all domestic students who have completed first-year studies, provided Kate-Lynd with the opportunity to gain work experience, learn important business philosophies and make friends with other interns from all over the world.

Inspired by her uncle who lived abroad and the exciting stories he told of life away from Australia, Kate-Lynd knew that a stint living overseas was something she wanted to experience.

“Since I was little I have been convinced that I was going to live overseas. So when this international internship opportunity came up I had to take it.

“It’s hard to comprehend the size of a company like Disney. Responsible for more than cartoons and theme parks, Disney is responsible for TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy and sports channel ESPN.

“My internship involved working in a merchandise store in Downtown Disney – the largest Disney store in the world. I was promoted to a trainer within five months and I enjoyed passing on the Disney culture to new employees.”

Disney culture included making sure all visitors had a positive experience at the theme park.

“I served one visitor who couldn’t speak English and was also deaf. Helping him shop around the store for over an hour created a little bond with the gentleman and he was very thankful.

“Working at Disney was full of little experiences like this, and also big experiences like travelling to different states and making lifelong friends.”

Away from home for a year, Kate-Lynd took any spare time she could to explore the rest of the country.

“I had saved up before I started my internship, and we also got paid for our work. I used my savings to make the most of my time, going on vacation to New York, Pennsylvania, Chicago and California. I even went on a Disney cruise!”

Kate-Lynd’s year abroad has increased her desire to work overseas and she encourages everyone to try living overseas for a period of time.

“I’m applying for graduate positions at the moment and every time I have an interview my time at Disney is brought up. I hope that I am successful with my applications, and that working for a large company will lead me to a job overseas eventually.

“My time at Disney was such an amazing experience; I would do it again in a heartbeat.”